William a



(No Model.)

W. A.- SHAW. DEVICE FOR RULING PARALLEL LINES.

Patented Mar. 18, 1890.

qwiltweooeo N m w 8 2 7m m N. PETERS. Phbloulnuyaphcr. Washington, DC.

To all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicE.

WILLIAM A. SHAlV, OF MANCHESTER, COUNTY OF LANCASTER, ENGLAND.

DEVICE FOR RULING PARALLEL LINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,823, dated March 18, 1890. Application filed July 1, 1889. Serial No. 316,170. (No model.) Patented in England January's, 1889, No, 365.

be it known that I, WILLIAM A. SHAW, of Stanley Mount, Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, Kingdom of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Ruling Parallel Lines, (for which English Patent, No. 365, dated January 8, 1889, has been granted and I do herebydeclare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in devices for ruling straight parallel lines.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and yet durable and effective device for ruling parallel lines on paper or the like, which will be small and compact, self-inking, and easily operated by hand and always ready for use, can be carried in the pocket, can be adjusted to simultaneously rule any number of parallel lines, and is especially adapted for use by musicians and others in marking the staff upon which to write musical notes or characters. These obj cots are accomplished by, and my invention consists in, certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts more fully described hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a plan view of the hand-ruling device, the ruling-disks of which are adjustable to vary the number of and distance between the parallel lines ruled. Fig. Bis a section of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the article adapted to rule a fixed number of parallel lines. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the same, showing the ruling and inking rollers separated from the frame. Fig. 5 is a section of the device of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively detail elevations of a clamping-washer and a ruling-disk.

This hand-ruling machine consists of the bifurcated integral frame a, provided with the rearwardly=extending handle I).

A flexible and porous inking roller 'i is j ournaled between the arms of the bifurcated frame near the closed end thereof, and this roller consists of a central shaft and a cylinder of felt or the like absorbent material upon the same.

The ruling device proper consists of a cyl inder c, journaled in the outer ends of the arms of the frame and provided with a stop at one end and a screw nut or washer d at the other end, and on the cylinder are removably and rigidly clampedby means of said nut a series of ruling disks or rings c, all of the same diameter, and provided with a central opening to snugly fit and slide upon the cylinder, and the disks are of such diameter that when upon the cylinder their peripheries will bear against the periphery of the inking-roller with considerable pressure, so that when rotated they will cause said inking-roller to rotate. The marking peripheries of the disks are of such width as to produce lines of the required heaviness. The marking-disks are held the desired distance apart by means of the loose interposed washers f; hence, if it is desired to increase or decrease the number of lines ruled or the distance between the lines, one of the arms of the frame is forced slightly out, thereby allowing the ruling-cylinder to fall out. The nut d is then removed and the washers and marking-disks slipped off and on until correctly adjusted. They are then clamped in position by the nut and the rulingcylinder springs back into place.

In Fig. 3 the ruling-cylinder g is shown as formed integral with a series of peripheral V-shaped grooves, thereby forming the circular parallel marking-edges or disks h.

The operation of the device is obvious. A suitable ink is first placed on the inking-roller, and of course as the marking-cylinder is run over the paper the friction will rotate said cylinder, which in turn will rotate the inkingroller, and sufficient ink from the roller will adhere to the marking edges or peripheries to make acontinuous clear line on'the paper.

This device is adapted for many uses and fills a long felt want. It is of great value to book-keepers and others having to rule parallel lines, as the device is cheap and simple and easy to operate and can be used with far greater ease and quickness than a common ruling=pen. The construction of Fig. 3 is of great particular value for ruling the parallel lines constituting the staff upon which mnsical notes are written; hence, the invention is of great value to musicians. If an inkingroller wears out, it can be quickly and easily replaced by a perfect one.

Vhat I claim is- 1. A hand device for ruling straight parallel lines, consisting of a single frame composed of a pair of parallel arms connected at their inner ends, and a rearWardly-extending handle, an inking-roller journaled between the inner portions of said arms and having an elastic porous periphery and ruling-cylinder journaled between the outer portions of said arms and having aseries of annular parallel projecting ruling-edges constantly bearing against the periphery of the inking-roller and adapted to rotate the same when the rulingcylinder is rotated, substantially as described.

12. A hand device for ruling parallel lines, consisting of a single frame having a pair of parallel arms, and a rearwardly-extending handle, an inking-cylinder jonrnaled between the inner portions of said arms and havinga porous periphery, and a rulin g-cylinder j our naled between the outer ends of said arms and provided with a series of adjustable separatelyremovable parallel ruling-disks clamped thereon and constantly bearing against the inking-roller, so as to rotate the same when the rulingcylinder is rotated, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM. A SHAW.

\Vitnesses:

()VVEN E. DUFFY, CHARLES M. WERLE. 

